An Investigation Of The Perceptions And Perspectives Of Speech-Language Pathologists Regarding Stuttering In Bilingual Versus Monolingual Children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions and perspectives of school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) regarding the frequency of stuttering observed in students who are bilingual and stutter versus students who are monolingual and stutter. Using surveys, quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to investigate the following: SLPs preparation to work with students who are bilingual and students who stutter; comfort levels of working with diverse populations; opinions on diagnostic and therapy materials in the workplace; as well as information regarding their experiences with working with students who stutter, students who are bilingual, and students who are bilingual and stutter. Most importantly, the study investigated SLPs’ opinions on whether students who are bilingual are more likely to stutter than monolingual students. The results indicated that SLPs did not think that students who are bilingual stutter more than students who are monolingual. Furthermore, the Spanish-English speaking SLPs in this study did not think bilingual students stutter more than monolingual students. In addition, a common trend noted among the participants was the number of SLPs who indicated their limited exposure and experience with working with bilingual students. Many felt that they did not have enough experience of working with bilingual students to have answers to several of the questions posited